Brigadier Leslie Wilton Andrew, VC, DSO (23 March 1897 – 8 January 1969) was a senior officer in the New Zealand Military Forces and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award of the British Commonwealth for gallantry "in the face of the enemy".

Following the outbreak of the Second World War, Andrew was appointed commander of the 22nd Battalion, which he led during the Battles of Greece and Crete as well as the early part of the North African Campaign.

For a short period in late 1941 he commanded an infantry brigade of the 2nd New Zealand Division, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership.

[2] During the early phase of the Battle of Passchendaele, Andrew's battalion was engaged in fighting around the village of La Basseville, a few kilometres southwest of Messines.

On leading his men forward he encountered unexpectedly a machine-gun post which was holding up the advance of another company; he immediately attacked, capturing the machine gun and killing several of the crew.

He displayed great skill and determination in his disposition, finally capturing the post, killing several of the enemy and putting the remainder to flight.

He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in March 1918,[2] and was posted to Sling Camp, the main training facility for the NZEF, as an instructor.

[2] In 1937, having been promoted to captain, Andrew led the New Zealand contingent sent to London for the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth.

He trained his new command hard, and quickly earned the nickname of February due to his habit of issuing 28-day detentions for any breaches in discipline.

Arriving in June, the battalion, along with the rest of the brigade, formed a mobile reserve for XII Corps, which was tasked with defending the coast of Kent from a possible German invasion.

[11] Andrew led the battalion through the subsequent Battle of Greece,[9] during which it saw little action apart from air raids and two minor engagements with the 2nd Panzer Division on 15 and 16 April at Mount Olympus.

[15] Forced to disperse the companies of his battalion widely to cover his positions, he closely oversaw the defensive arrangements and ensured sufficient ammunition for his men.

[21] The withdrawal to the positions of the 21st and 23rd Battalions came as a major surprise to Hargest, but instead of ordering an immediate counterattack, he directed Andrew take overall command of the defences of 5th Brigade and conceded the airfield was lost.

[9] Andrew and the surviving elements of his battalion were withdrawn from the area to Sphakia and, after acting as a defensive cordon, evacuated from Crete.

[29][30] He relinquished command of 22nd Battalion in February 1942 and returned to New Zealand in response to a need for experienced officers to oversee development of home defences after the entry of Japan into the war.

[9] In the immediate postwar period, he commanded the New Zealand contingent for the 1946 Victory Parade in London, and the following year attended the Imperial Defence College.

His funeral was attended by three fellow VC recipients, including Reverend Keith Elliott, a former soldier of the 22nd Battalion, who also provided a reading.

[2] A barracks at Linton Army Camp is named after him; in Belgium, in the village of Warneton, just south of La Basseville, there is a commemorative plaque in his memory.

[33] On 31 July 2017, the 100-year anniversary of the action at La Basseville that earned him the VC, a plaque in Andrew's memory was unveiled at the Wellington railway station.

As a result, Andrew was also reluctant to contribute to the official history of the 22nd Battalion, implying to its author that Kippenberger would distort events as he believed he had with the Crete book.

[39] The lethargic and indecisive conduct of his brigade commander, James Hargest, in the early stages of the fighting on the island was also a significant factor in Maleme airfield falling to the Germans.

On 16 February 2008, New Zealand Police announced that all the medals had been recovered as a result of a NZ$300,000 reward offered by Michael Ashcroft and Tom Sturgess.